MAMEWorld Forums - EmuChat

The Video Pinball artwork turned out to be a lot more
of a challenge than expected.

For one, it is art that is intended to be lit in Blacklight.
This changes the entire look of the artwork, AND, no scanner
will pick up blacklight. You would have to somehow
modify a scanner with a miniature blacklight bulb - and it
MIGHT work. But, you are not going to find such a bulb.

So that leaves Photographs. However, I dont happen to have
a very good camera. In fact, most cameras will have a very
hard time capturing good detail in low light. You end up
with blur and loss of detail & color depth. Not to mention,
with a camera, you have perspective issues. Meaning, you will need about 100 photos to get enough data for a
non-perspective stitch. (the art is NOT FLAT! )

Then you have the problem that mame does not display
3d planes. The art is NOT FLAT! It has foam parts stuck
on it that are 1cm thick. A typical scanner cant even scan
both layers at once... which would mean you would have to
destroy the artwork to scan both layers.

Next, mame is set to display it as "Flat". Which means
you wont even see the artwork the way it was meant to be
seen. Therefore, making it just about pointless to even
do in the first place.

(just about as pointless as getting that gun game smitt
is interested it... cause that game has real cups that
fly apart via strings (its not a video image) - and mame,
as far as Ive heard, has no intent to simulate such a thing)

Just as it was initially Pointless for me to scan in the
Discs of Tron artwork Ages ago, when mame would only allow
an image with 256 colors. Yet, I did hold on to the images
for like 3yrs or so, when mame finally adapted to support
16 bit color art.

For me, its not about the lack of motivation however. It
the lack of a $1000 camera, and the desire to do the job
right.

For the Artwork to be shown as it should, in all its
blacklight glory, as well as in its true intended
perspective.

While I Do have a lead on a possible Photographer to help
out... Ive not done so, more or less, because "if" I can
get him to do it.. it has to be a one shot deal. I cant
expect the guy to spend several hrs on something he has no
interest it.

So, send me a $1000 camera, Ill do the deed and send the
work back for free, as intended. I dont charge $50,000
for something that should be preserved for history.
(even though admittedly, Im not much of a fan of
Video Pinball)